A washed-up music manager finds renewed hope in the middle of Afghanistan in the dreadfully disjointed Rock the Kasbah. Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) used to be somebody. He once managed all of the big-name acts of the 1970s, but those days are gone and buried, along with Lanz’s career. These days, he’s reduced to living […]
A patriotic Navy SEAL becomes the country’s most lethal shot while struggling to cope with his own reality in American Sniper. Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) grew up as a God-fearing, America-loving Texas cowboy. His father taught him how to handle a rifle, how to handle bullies and, most importantly, how to handle himself. As soon […]
A young man trades a troubled youth for Olympic success before taking on his greatest challenge as a prisoner of war in Unbroken. Louis Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) grew up in the shadow of his older brother Pete. In an effort to stand apart, Louis often chose to focus his boundless energy on hijinks that more […]
Most film trilogies build up to a finale that pulls together all of the characters and subplots into a satisfying story that resolves most things for those who invested in the series. That is certainly the case for The Lord of the Rings. Each film got better until the moving, dramatic third entry that was […]
A war-weary tank crew takes on desperate Nazi soldiers in the final months of World War II in Fury. George C. Scott played the indomitable and eccentric General George S. Patton in the 1970 film Patton and said, “No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb […]
Despite the best attempts to kill off these resilient creatures, vampires continue to be popular on television as well as the big screen. Shows like True Blood and films like the Twilight series perpetuate the fascination with vampires as well as their glamorization. Universal Pictures adds another monster to their canon with Dracula Untold. Although […]
As America recovers from the shock of Watergate, the fragile peace in Far East Asia collapses and ushers in the Last Days in Vietnam. In 1963, President Lyndon Johnson took up the battle against Communism by escalating the fight against the North Vietnamese in Vietnam. American men were suddenly being whisked away from a world […]
A onetime topflight salsa protégé is drawn back to the rigors of dance in Cuban Fury. In his early teens, Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) was a salsa savant, ready to make his mark on the world by claiming a local major dance title. With his revered salsa coach, Ron (Ian McShane), awaiting his arrival, Bruce […]
The controversial former Secretary of Defense sits down for a candid one-on-one interview in The Unknown Known. The administration of President George W. Bush will forever conjure up images of three main players: Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld has a history in politics dating back to the Dwight Eisenhower […]
A ragtag group of Russian soldiers defend a key position against an onslaught of determined German invaders during the battle for Stalingrad. One of the most chilling statistics of World War II is the sheer number of casualties suffered by Soviet forces. A classic case in point is the epic struggle that took place in the […]
A tactical mission in Afghanistan to eliminate a top Taliban target goes awry in Lone Survivor. On June 11, 1963, a Vietnamese monk sat down at a busy Saigon intersection and chose to be burned alive as a protest against the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government. The monk sat motionless while he […]
World War II Germany is seen through the innocent eyes of a young girl with a fascination for books in The Book Thief. From the very first shot, I was captivated by this film. In an odd twist, it’s narrated by not one of the main characters but by Death himself, who laments how busy he was […]